Thin film platinum temperature sensors

Leslah Garland 18 March 2026  

Innovative Sensor Technology (IST) has announced that the European Space Agency (ESA) has renewed the ESCC qualification for its HiRel thin film platinum temperature sensors, including extended wire (“pigtail”) versions.

The company says with the renewed qualification of its sensors, including the approved leads and welding joints, it has reinforced its position in the space segment and is continuing to meet the growing demand for HiRel temperature sensors with wire extensions. These robust, off‑the‑shelf solutions can provide engineers with reliable components that significantly reduce development time and testing efforts.

The renewed certification no. 352D covers resistances from 100 Ω to 2000 Ω and operating ranges of –50 °C to 150 °C and –200 °C to 200 °C, with options for platinum leads or twisted 2‑ and 4‑core extensions up to 10,000 mm, shielded or unshielded. All sensor variants are available as Flight Models (FM) and Engineering Models (EM) and are listed under ESCC specification No. 4006/015 in the ESCC Qualified Parts List (QPL).

IST says its sensors are already deployed on numerous international space missions, including Rosetta, Euclid, JUICE, ExoMars, PLATO, FLEX, Solar Orbiter, SMILE, ALTIUS, Copernicus and MTG‑S, and will soon support upcoming missions such as COMET I and ARIEL.

Valid until February 2028, this renewal follows ESA’s official confirmation for the supply of Resistance Temperature Detector Thin Film Platinum Sensor, for use in ESA space programmes, according to ESCC Generic Specification 4006 and associated Detail Specification 4006/015 as recommended by the Space Components Steering Board.

IST says it remains the only provider of ESCC‑qualified thin‑film platinum RTDs for space applications.